XFC 27 heads to Michigan with Junior Assuncao vs. Daniel Swain

Xtreme Fighting Championship will return in December for its debut in a new state.

“XFC 27: Frozen Fury” will head to L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon, Mich., on Dec. 13. The main card will get a live broadcast on AXS TV. The promotion recently made the 12-fight card official.

Headlining the event will be former UFC featherweight Junior Assuncao (14-5) against Daniel Swain (10-2). The co-feature will be the final of XFC’s featherweight tournament, featuring Deivison Ribeiro (24-9) vs. Farkhad Sharipov (14-5).

Assuncao returned to action in September for Premium Fight Championship in Brazil, where he stopped Guilherme Faria de Souza with a fourth-round kimura. That was his first fight since being released from the UFC in his second stint with the company, which produced a 1-1 record after going 1-2 with the promotion his first time around. Prior to his loss to Ross Pearson in December 2011, which led to his UFC release, Assucao had a seven-fight winning streak.

The American Kickboxing Academy-trained Swain has won four in a row, including a 3-0 mark in 2013 with back-to-back knockout wins. But the Washington native will be taking on his most veteran competition yet. His resume includes a submission win over UFC fighter Sam Sicilia in 2011.

Ribeiro has won back-to-back fights for XFC. This past month, he stopped Jason Hicks at XFC 26 to earn his place in the featherweight title tournament final. In June, he beat Shah Bobonis at XFC 24 to snap a two-fight skid. He has won six of his past eight fights.

Sharipov in September stopped Stephen Bass in the second round to punch his ticket to the tourney final. That win got him back on track after back-to-back losses for Bellator in 2011. Now he’ll be going after XFC’s first featherweight title since 2010.

The AXS TV-broadcast main card also feathers a lightweight fight between Joe Elmore (7-5) and Eric Reynolds (18-6); a women’s atomweight bout between Stephanie Skinner (2-4) and the debuting Angela Hill (0-0); lightweights Dave Courchaine (15-6) vs. Alexander Trevino (5-3); and a welterweight bout between Dom Steele (7-4) and Ryan Thomas (17-7).

The complete XFC 27 card includes:

MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 9 p.m. ET)

• Junior Assuncao vs. Daniel Swain
• Deivison Ribeiro vs. Farkhad Sharipov – featherweight tournament final
• Joe Elmore vs. Eric Reynolds
• Angela Hill vs. Stephanie Skinner
• Dave Courchaine vs. Alex Trevino
• Dominique Steele vs. Ryan Thomas

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Shamir Garcia vs. Ray Lopez
• Marcus Reynolds vs. Dequan Townsend
• Andy Carter vs. Kenneth Green
• Drew Morais vs. David Rohn
• Roy Saldana vs. Andres Torres
• Jacob Butler vs. Joel Vincent

For more on XFC 27, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Junior Assuncao)